Documenters: Franklin Township Trustee meeting for Aug. 12, 2025

Franklin Township Trustee meeting
Township Hall
August 12, 2025

In attendance were Chairperson Kellie Kapusta and trustees Scott Swan and Glenn Russell. Also attending were Zoning Inspector Joe Ciccozzi, Deputy Fire Prevention Officer Richard Smith, Fiscal Officer Lisé Russell and Road Superintendent David Akerley.

The meeting was called to order shortly after 7 p.m. by Kapusta. After a unanimous approval of the minutes from the previous meeting, the floor was opened for public comment. Resident Jill Grimm asked if there were any specific regulations or rules in the township regarding door-to-door solicitation as she has noticed an increase. After a brief discussion, it was noted that there are no ordinances against solicitations. 

Chuck Hall and Annette McMullen then provided an update on Captain Brady Day. They have secured space at the park for the celebration on July 25, 2026. They are finalizing plans with food trucks and entertainment providers. They would like to explore having a parade and a kayak race.

Hall inquired about the process to get police support. Detective Nick DeSerio with the Portage County Sheriff’s Office was in attendance and offered to be the liaison for that request. Ciccozzi shared zoning updates that are coming regarding food truck regulations.

A resident asked the trustees if they had seen any reports from the data gathered by a buoy recently deployed in Brady Lake. While there was no report to provide, Kapusta suggested that it should be available online. The website, she remarked, was on the buoy.

With no further comments from the public, DeSerio provided a report from the sheriff. In July, officers responded to over 276 total calls across the township. Following his report, Lisé Russell inquired about what can be done about off-leash dogs at township parks. She was advised that calling the dog warden should be the first action taken. 

Ciccozzi next provided a zoning update. The permits for a new Flynn’s Tire were approved. The shop will be at 1850 St. Rt. 59 where Aaron’s was. Additional permits were given to homeowners in the township for an above ground pool, side yard setback and a deck. Ciccozzi also provided an update on the Beck PRD. He had received a request from a lawyer for the minutes from the July 14 meeting. Those are needed to start the zoning appeals process. He let the lawyer know that they would not be available until this meeting and then they could be found online. Swan offered a reminder that meeting minutes are no longer posted on the website. Ciccozzi said he would let the lawyer know and send her the minutes directly.

A service report was then provided by Akerley. The installation of the pickleball courts is on schedule with the installation of fence posts. He met earlier with Tim Perrin of Perrin Asphalt on the Hudson Road repaving project. Because the estimate from Perrin was lower than what was projected by the county engineer’s office, there is room for additional work to be completed as part of this project. If the weather holds, they expect the work to be completed in a week. 

Additional road work on the Cox extension and Garfield Street has been scheduled and work on Lakeview Drive, Park Street, Thorndale Drive and Basswood Drive is being requoted after the return of core samples.

Akerley has been working with Titan Electric to secure a new utility pole at Brady Lake. The hope was that this could be done at no cost, but there will in fact be a $3,000 charge. The trustees approved this cost.

The report from Smith started with an update that renovations at the Burnt Pickle and the former Smoke Lifted location were underway. The bulk of his report centered around the weather alert siren at Phillips Park, which is not currently functioning as expected. There are two issues. The first is mechanical in that it is not rotating. B&C Communications has been asked to investigate. The second issue is electrical. The township, city and Kent State University all have sirens that are no longer operating uniformly on the same frequency. Kent State has made the decision to operate its system independently. The city is upgrading its system to 800mhz. If the township did the same, it could sync alerts. If this is not done, the township would need to activate its system as needed on its own. After some debate, the trustees agreed to pay the $5,720.15 for the signal upgrade. This work will begin as soon as possible and there is a discussion with the city on how they can divide up the currently available parts needed.

Glenn Russell had one piece of old business. That was to report on an ongoing issue with the culvert on North Boulevard. The township cannot grant access to a non-improved road. The property owner had work done based on a different understanding. Swan pointed out that all of the information that had been provided to date by the trustees was done in good faith and was believed to be true at the time. Glenn Russell announced that the homeowner had been reimbursed by the township that evening for expenses and, based on the recommendation from the prosecutor’s office, he made a motion that the culvert be removed. The motion passed unanimously.

Kapusta then called for any new business. Akerley reported that he has been contacted by a resident on Pleasant Avenue concerning “more and more people who are parking on the road and walking to the lake to fish.” Kapusta said she had gotten a similar complaint and she visited the site. She shared pictures of a roadway lined with cars and said the issue is that it makes it difficult for delivery and service vehicles to move through the space.

The trustees discussed considering treating the lakefront like a park and restricting open hours. DeSerio offered that the sheriff could be called on noise complaints and similar concerns. Glenn Russell offered to look into options involving potential modifying existing signs and erecting new ones.

Glenn Russell said he was contacted by a Twin Lakes resident who has a dying tree on their right of way. He and Akerley visited the space and, while the tree has fallen branches and is dying, the country prosecutor’s office advised them against pursuing any work on it. Their argument was that it opens up a situation where people turn to the township for tree care which can be costly and open the township up to legal liabilities. The guidance was that it was the township’s responsibility if it fell in the road. Glenn Russell offered to provide the homeowner with an update.

Lisé Russell reported that due in part to JEDD collection numbers, “we’re in good shape financially.” At the end of July, the township had spent 46.7% of its appropriated funds and collected 78.7% of the projected revenue, with the JEDD projections for the year having already been met.

She requested an appraisal of the Township Hall building and just received the numbers: $255,000. Given the amount of work that is projected, she suggested that the trustees might consider looking for a new building, preferably within the township.

Kapusta then made a motion to convene to an executive session for a hiring discussion.